MR 24: Eye of the Scorpion (Spoilers)

Great stuff.

Erimem makes a good first impression, Peri gets some decent stuff to do and the fifth Doctor gets a dynamic portrayal, leaping into action. Only issue was I preferred the political shenanigans (of which episode 3 is a triumph) without the alien gestalt (which seems to lack motivation save for wanting to conquer) but the scene of it's defeat works nicely.

This is an interesting one for me because I've read The Coming Of The Queen and the first couple of Erimem spin off books, so I'm already fairly familiar with the character and now I'm listening to what is supposed to be her introduction... I could say something about wibbly wobbly timey wimey but I won't. Overall, this was a solid introduction to the 'Erimem era' and to the character in general, and I was always interested in Ancient Egypt as a child so it was nice setting for the audio that I don't think has been used much in Doctor Who. I also enjoyed the political drama-ness of it and think perhaps it would have worked better without the more sci-fi stuff, but hey, there's still a lot to like here.

The Doctor not being in Part Two is very Hartbell historical, or indeed the 60's where the Doctor or companion would miss an episode while their actor took a holiday. With a bit of tweaking this could easily have worked as a Hartnell historical back in the day.

I really enjoy this period of the Fifth Doctor's life. Post-Resurrection where he's become a bit more musing and cautiously attentive. Not quite as shy as he once was, but having lost a certain degree of trust in himself and others as a result. Couple that interesting sense of determination with a wide-eyed, thrillseeking Peri and a curious Erimem, and it makes for a really interesting dynamic. Like a stepfather travelling abroad with two adoptive daughters. Eye of the Scorpion and The Church and the Crown set a really high bar for their run, I don't think there's a single historical tale that falls flat with these three.

Scorpion manages to be extremely atmospheric, using its time period in an extremely inventive way. Beyond the well-trodden tropes that have been explored elsewhere. It succeeds in being a profoundly unconventional story for the era it's set within and all the better for it. I can still remember the climax in the tunnels from my first listening, it's practically iconic. There's this wonderful novel-like quality to the way it's written, just like the old Hartnell historicals that treated episodes like chapters in a book.

It's a great place to start off if you're diving into Big Finish as a newcomer, it exhibits all of their strengths from the acting to the writing to the sound design. Otherworldly intelligence or no, it's also an extremely good historical story. Highly recommended.

Have you tried phone typing? And bloody autocorrect?

I hope nobody minds if I mention a few things here. The Doctor's absence from Part Two was definitely my nod to the old historicals and was a holdover from the original thought of doing this as a full-on historical. In the end I bottled out of doing a pure historical. It was my first ever attempt at writing audio/radio and when I hit a blip I wasn't confident enough to carry on with it as a pure historical and I added the alien threat.

Caroline was a brilliant piece of casting. She completely got the character and knew what I was doing with her. It's worth pointing out, despite the last scene, there was never any discussion between Gary Russell and I about Erimem staying on until the first day in studio when he asked 'Mind if we use her again?'. Looking back, though, Gary had me put a lot of development into how Erimem dealt with Peri and the Doctor. He'd mentioned that he liked the character, so I'm guessing he wanted to hear how they worked together before deciding if she was on board or not. As for Caroline, it's still her voice I hear when I'm writing or editing the Erimem books.

There's one bit of dialogue leading into the court scene in ep 3 that I hate. It was a huge infodump from Peri, and I should have lessened it by having the Doctor say "Is that all?' or something like that. Peter Davison was brilliant in that court scene in episode 3 IMHO. I wanted a very Doctor-ish moment of authority for him. His performance was really strong there - particularly impressive because he really needed to go to the loo but had to finish the scene first.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm genuinely very curious -- did you get any input into Erimem's departure story on audio, The Bride of Peladon?

The Eye of the Scorpion is a cracking good adventure by Iain McLaughlin, one that starts well and gets even better with each episode. I love the classic pure historicals and the later alien-rich pseudo-historicals - and this very successfully manages to be both at the same time and to introduce an excellent new Companion. (Not that we are supposed to know that until the end of course.)

(One of the very best things about DU is that sometimes we're privileged to hear directly from the people behind these great stories. Thanks to iainmclaughlin for this one and for giving us interesting notes on it. And I'm looking forward to 'The Churchill Years Volume 02' in February, including 'Human Conflict'.)

The alien presence is made clear from the beginning but for most of the first half it's in the background of what might well be a pure historical and a very good one indeed. Erimem is her father's legitimate heir, but there are many who see a female Pharaoh (as yet uncrowned) simply as a chance to grab power for themselves. Yanis (a gangster warlord apparently from the East End of the desert) and Horemshep (the smoothly treacherous High Priest) may be motivated by the alien influence, but I don't think they needed very much convincing...

Episode One throws the Doctor and Peri straight into the classic historical - the Doctor shows his charioteering skills (move over, Ben-Hur!) and fights assassins, and he and Peri enter Thebes in style and are honoured guests at a sumptuous banquet, all because they've met (and rescued) the Important Historical Figure in the traditional way. And who more important than the young Pharaoh Erimem - except for one thing - the Doctor knows Earth history and he's never heard of her...

It's a great start to the story; Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant play the historical perfectly (Peri's culture shocks at the banquet are fun!) and the Doctor and Peri's relationship with Erimem seems solid and natural within minutes - as they enter Thebes in a chariot, Peri (discovering who they have rescued) asks should she be bowing or curtseying? And Erimem replies, yes she should but please don't because Peri would probably fall off the chariot and that would be so undignified! Caroline Morris is excellent and, listening with the benefit of hindsight, Erimem has 'Companion' written all over her because she is clearly different, an independent spirit greater than the society she has grown up in.

I enjoyed all this very much and also the nod to the old historicals by having the Doctor missing from episode Two, just as they did when William Hartnell and co. were due a week off from their hectic filming schedules. Here, his absence does far more than pay tribute to 'Doctor Who' history, by bringing Peri and Erimem to the fore - and quite right too in this story which is centred on a young woman trying to assert herself in a very male-dominated society. Loyal army commander Antranak may advise against it, but he obeys and helps Erimem and her new friend Peri to boldly go investigating where no man but Pharaoh has legally gone before - the Palace of Concubines - for a gripping 'Indiana Jones' segment of secret passages, flickering torches, hidden altars and horrible hordes of creepy-crawlies! And scorpions behaving as none should do - some strange influence is at work in Egypt...

With the Doctor back in action, episode Three is the best yet as he discovers the alien presence in the enemy camp and then turns up in Thebes just in the nick of time to engage in a brilliant showdown with Horemshep and his new ally, the previously loyal priest Fayum - but the Doctor now knows how that loyalty has been so easily swayed... It's a great scene between Peter Davison and Stephen Perring and for me one of the highlights of the story.

Then, with the alien influence growing, there's time for one more tribute to the historicals like' Marco Polo', with a journey section taking the action north to the pyramids at Giza to join up with Erimem's garrison there. And the journey gives time for a reflective scene and my favourite moment. Travelling on a chariot with the Doctor, Erimem rejects her gods (including her own supposed divinity) and tells the Doctor what she really believes in - science, experimentation, discovery! It's practically a 'religious' conversion scene; even though Erimem has made her decision before he arrives, it's the Doctor's presence that encourages her to declare it openly and align with his ideals and with him. A ready-made Companion if ever there was one!

Then we're back to action for an exciting final section of battles on the plains of Giza and in a secret world far below. Where a 'mummy' film would have had spirits, chanting and possessed cults, this Egyptian-themed 'Doctor Who' has mind parasites, telepathy and group minds for the Doctor to fight - which he does, typically, not by any special 'power' but by helping the human victims of the alien parasite to re-discover the power of their own independent minds.

And there's just time for a very funny joke about the face of the Sphinx (given a bit of a makeover on Peri's instructions!) before the surprise ending...  Like Leela (or even Adric) Erimem doesn't accept her 'place' in her own world. A life as the all-powerful Pharaoh and a living god? What does that have to offer compared with the attractions of education, travel and discovery? It's a great idea - Erimem feels her destiny lies elsewhere and the Doctor knows she will never be crowned Pharaoh - and they end by fulfilling that 'prophecy' of history between them.

It's remarkable that Erimem joining the TARDIS crew wasn't always planned, because to me the story seemed to lead there from the start. Destiny must work at BF too!

(That was rather too long, sorry, I got a bit carried away!)

Ooh, something I meamt to mention... actually a couple of things. Erimem was initially to be Hatchepsut but I made the change because it worked better with someone considerably less ambitious than the real Hatchepsut. Erimem's rejection of the Egyptian gods was nicked from, Tutankhamun's father Pharaoh Akhenaten, who rejected all of the old gods in favour of worshipping the sun - the Aten - though mere plebs had to owrship the Pharaoh who would then pass on the worship to the Aten. He also abandoned the capital thebes and built a new city, Amarna. He wasn't hugely popular with the priests, who wiped out everything from his reign pretty quickly after he popped his clogs. I just took Erimem a wee bit further.